Classes
by matchynishi
Summary: Shuichi Hatanaka goes to meet his stepbrother at Tokyo University. And has fun acting the younger brother to the hilt. Oneshot. Follows 'Nightfall'. Dedicated to omasuoniwabanshi.


Hi everyone! I have midterms and assignments the coming week, but this plotbunny wouldn't leave me alone until I had it written down. This fic's dedicated to omasuoniwabanshi, coz she was the one who drove me to write another Kurama-Shuichi interaction fic.It might not be too good (I'm kinda low on sleep nowadays) but anyways... Could be taken as a countinuation of 'Nightfall'. I decided to be nicer to Shuichi-kun in this one, though. :p It's 2,745 words. I hope you enjoy!

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A young, brown haired boy hurriedly passed through the gates of the busy Tokyo University and stopped for a moment, trying to get his bearings. He looked at the small bit of paper in his hand and helplessly looked around at the intimidating size of the campus. 

_No help for it. I need to ask for directions._

Grimacing at the thought, he glanced around a couple of times before spotting two students likely to help him and approached them, shifting his backpack to his other shoulder self-consciously.

Fifteen minutes later, he had nearly reached his destination and to his relief, saw that he was a good twenty minutes early. He took a peek in the classroom through the small, transparent, plastic section of the door and blinked.

_Wow, full class, this._

There were so many students in the class that some of them were standing pressed against the door. He had to squint hard to see over the tops of their heads to the rest of the class. He shrugged and leaned casually against the wall a little way away; while trying hard to look like he wasn't feeling vaguely uncomfortable and extremely young as he looked around at the eclectic bunches of university students walking past him.

A few minutes passed with him peering interestedly at the many students passing through the hallway, some frowning, some purposefully walking, seriousness intent on their faces, some laughing and joking with their friends. He was so involved in people-watching that he didn't see the man approaching him.

"You're a bit late for this class, aren't you?"

The young man blinked on being addressed directly and turned his head to the side, unconsciously straightening as he did. An older man, in his early fifties with graying hair and glasses stood before him with a briefcase in one hand and a file in the other.

"Me?" he echoed, nonplussed. "Oh, I'm not in this class. I'm just waiting for someone."

"Ah." The man nodded in understanding, then smiled slightly in amusement as he jerked his head towards the door. "Not that you'd be able to get in even if you wanted to."

The younger of the two followed his gaze to the packed classroom and grinned.

"I see what you mean. I don't think the room can hold any more." He flicked his glance at the schedule taped outside the door and raised his brows in slight surprise. "I didn't know so many people were interested in taking an advanced Biology course."

"Botany," the older man corrected. "And no, they aren't. The actual enrollment for this course... hmm, let me think. Maybe about 40? No, closer to 35, I think."

The boy digested this for a moment before turning a bewildered glance back. "Then what are the rest of them doing in there? There must be more than double that number in there…" He turned back to the closed door of the classroom in surprise. "Wow, they must really be into learning new stuff if so many come to classes they don't need to…"

The older man chuckled. "No, I don't think that's it. They don't come to **_my_** lectures in droves, after all." His mischievous glance back at the door made the youth wonder exactly what he was missing. Wait…

"**_Your_** lectures?"

The man laughed again and adjusted his glasses. "I'm the professor of this course, Yamada Ichiro."

"Ha… Hatanaka Shuichi, pleased to meet you," the youngster stammered out. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but if you're out here, then who's teaching?" Shuichi asked in some confusion.

There was that amused glance again. "This is a tutorial class. The Teaching Assistants are the ones who normally handle these classes, while I teach the lecture classes." He grinned at Shuichi.

"I'm guessing you aren't in university yet – you **_do_** look a little young, if you don't mind my saying so."

Shuichi grinned sheepishly and nodded. It was **_that_** obvious?

"I'm in high school. I'm waiting for my brother."

Yamada nodded in understanding and glanced at his watch. "Ah, class is nearly over. They'll be coming out very soon. You'd better stand a little more to the side, Hatanaka-kun, I don't think you'd particularly enjoy getting trampled by the active hordes."

Shuichi laughed at the warning but dutifully situated himself a little more out of the way.

As if on cue, the door opened and students came pouring out, girls and boys alike (though he couldn't help but notice that there were a lot more girls than boys), chattering excitedly, clutching books, handbags and backpacks. Shuichi could make out bits and pieces of sentences as they passed him and the professor.

"Oh, he explained that so well, with the diagrams and all…"

"…dunno, I wasn't listening, I had **_other_** things to look at, if you know what I mean …"

"Sakura!"

"…yeah, _Albizia julibrissin_, displays thigmonasty, common name, Mimosa…"

"… you see his eyes?"

"… **_smiled_** at me!"

"Yeah, probably at that atrocity you're wearing, you fashion-challenged dodo…"

"…look who's talking…"

"…get that question about the taxonomy…"

"…hair, omigod, you just want to run your fingers through it…"

Shuichi stood with rather wide eyes as the laughing, chattering groups burst out of the class and into the hallway.

"Do you see your brother anywhere?" He looked back at the professor who was waiting patiently for the class to empty.

"Um, no. And, well, he's not exactly easy to miss…"

"Well, you can come inside and look if you want, it would be easier to spot him there. I need to talk to the TA anyways."

Shuichi nodded in agreement and accompanied the professor inside. There were still about twenty students in front of the class, waiting to ask the TA any questions that they had. He perused the students while he waited, trying to look for any sign of his brother. A flash of red caught his eye. Ah, there! Satisfied he hadn't missed him in the outpouring earlier, he leaned back against a desk.

"Found your brother yet?" He turned around to see Yamada-san looking kindly down at him.

"Yeah, I got a glimpse of him over there. I think I'll wait till he's done."

"Wise of you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go rescue my poor assistant. It was nice to meet you, Hatanaka-kun." Yamada winked at Shuichi and set off towards the front of the class.

Shuichi stood at the back, craning his head to see his brother again for a few minutes before deciding that he'd walk a little bit to the front, too. There were very few students left now anyways.

As he neared the front, he could see the last of the students trickle out and the professor talking with a redhead whose back was to him.

Shuichi blinked in surprise. Why was Yamada-san talking to his brother? Didn't he say he wanted to talk to his Teaching Assistant? He frowned in puzzlement. It took only a few moments to connect the dots. His brows drew together in consternation. This was _** so**_ like his enigmatic stepbrother! Why didn't he **_tell_** them!

Out at the front, Kurama was talking to Yamada-sensei when he sensed someone trying very hard to glare a metaphorical hole through him. He excused himself, and turned around to meet the distinctly annoyed face of his stepbrother. Kurama blinked once, taken aback.

By his side, Yamada-sensei was looking at his stepbrother. "Didn't you find your brother, Hatanaka-kun?" he asked curiously, eyes fixing themselves on the young teen.

Shuichi scowled and crossed his arms, without breaking his gaze from Kurama.

"Oh, I found him just fine. Hello, niisan."

The professor's brows rose so high they were in danger of merging with his hair. There were a few moments of silence when the two brothers continued to look at each other and the professor continued to look at them.

Kurama finally gave a little sigh and walked forward. "Shuichi-kun, what brings you here?"

Shuichi finally abandoned his pose to take off his backpack and put it on a chair.

"I went to a friend's house nearby, and kaasan told me to meet you here so you could drive me home. I tried to call, but your cell phone was off."

Kurama nodded and turned back to Yamada-sensei. "You've met my stepbrother, sensei?"

"Stepbrother… Ah, yes, I see… Although I didn't know the brother he was searching for was my newest Teaching Assistant."

"Neither did **_I_**," observed Shuichi, narrowing his eyes.

Kurama smiled in some amusement at the younger teen. "I'm sorry, Shuichi-kun, I was going to tell all of you, but I thought it would be better to tell you only **_if_** I got the job."

A confused expression flitted over Shuichi's face. Kurama chuckled and turned back to his professor, who was also smiling.

"Yes, I think you can safely celebrate with your family, Minamino-kun… I wasn't able to get in today, but you managed the class before that very well. The students seem to like you well enough," Yamada affirmed.

"And, well," he trailed off. "There's the fact that you seem to have rather a knack for getting new students interested in the subject…" Yamada continued speaking as his gaze turned to Shuichi.

"...isn't that so, Hatanaka-kun?"

Shuichi's frown melted away as he smirked. "Oh, yes. Definitely. He's had **_that_** knack ever since he started school, kaasan tells me."

"Oh?" asked Yamada blandly. "Well, it's always nice to get some new blood, isn't it? And Botany's a very interesting subject, not as dry as Physics and Chemistry… all that perspectives on fresh young… **_plants_**…,"

Yamada-sensei was very careful not to look at Kurama as he was speaking, but that little pause before that last word made it very clear what (or who) he meant when he said it.

"…would be very appealing to young kids, I suppose."

"Yes, and some of the flowers are so… **_pretty_**, aren't they, Yamada-san?"

"Oh, of course, very pretty, very pretty…"

Both Yamada-sensei and Shuichi were quite openly grinning at each other by this time. Kurama had to stifle an urge to roll his eyes and settled for shaking his head instead. His professor and his stepbrother were bonding while making fun of **_him_**!

Kurama looked reproachfully at the two laughing together like old friends. Shuichi just smirked at him while Yamada-sensei beamed at the both of them, eyes dancing.

"As much as I enjoyed this little chat, I must be going," The professor said while picking up his briefcase that he'd left on the floor. "There are classes to teach, assignments to mark, and not to mention, check in to see whether Honda-kun's condition has improved."

"Honda-kun?" echoed Shuichi, his puzzlement showing in his voice.

"Mm-hmm," Yamada stroked his chin. "He's pursuing a Masters degree under my supervision. He was originally the one selected as my assistant, but he was in an accident involving a hit-and-run driver last Friday, and he's still in a coma." He sighed and seemed to bunch in on himself as he thought.

"It's very sad; he's a very special young man. I do hope he gets well soon…" His voice petered out and they all stood in silence for some moments, Shuichi and Kurama respectfully giving the time for Yamada to compose himself.

"That was the reason that I only asked Minamino-kun to consider the position just before the university opened for the semester. Normally we have the T.As all set up pretty early. My two other graduate students are much too busy now and well, Minamino-kun has scored so very well in his courses, it was an easy choice." Yamada smiled at Shuichi and Kurama.

"You are too kind," Kurama murmured tactfully.

"Nonsense, it's the truth after all." Yamada waved the humility away and looked at his watch. "Oh, look at the time! I really must be going now, Hatanaka-kun. Minamino-kun, I'll see you later." Kurama nodded back.

There was a flurry of farewells spoken as Yamada made a speedy exit and the two brothers were left alone.

"Well," Kurama spoke first. "I'll be ready to go in five minutes, Shuichi-kun. If you'll just let me get my things." Shuichi nodded absently as he watched Kurama place everything in his backpack and pull on his coat. Kurama nodded at Shuichi and they began to walk out the room together.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Shuichi asked suddenly.

Kurama glanced back, eyes softening slightly at the innocence of the question.

"Honda-san?" he asked back, and sighed softly at his brother's nod of affirmation.

Kurama's eyes clouded over as he thought. "His condition seems to be very serious. His family's distraught, and quite understandably so…"

"What? You've been there, at the hospital?"

Kurama nodded. "Honda-san was the T.A when I took the course last year… He's a good person. When I heard the news from Yamada-sensei, I thought it only proper to go and see him. The doctors only give him a 30 per cent chance to live."

"Oh... 30 per cent, huh…"

Kurama could feel his brother getting more depressed and attempted to lure him back to his normal, happy mood.

"However," he continued. "If Honda-san wakes up from his coma, the doctors say he would have a much better chance of survival."

Shuichi perked up. "Really? So he wouldn't die, after all? How long would it take for him to wake up from his coma?"

"Well, he has a better chance of living when he's more awake than he's asleep. And with a coma, it could be anywhere from days to months." _Or years_, he added silently.

Shuichi got a slightly happier expression on his face. "So he could live, after all."

"Yes, he could."

Kurama quite purposefully omitted to inform his brother that if so, Honda-kun would probably be living with considerable injuries to his brain. He knew exactly what repercussions any serious brain damage could do to a person. Surely death was preferable than living a life cursed without mobility, or self-thought.

_Particularly when death came in the form of an irrepressible blue haired beauty in a pink kimono with laughing eyes on a flying oar_, he thought with an inner smile.

Not that he should be talking. He grimaced. After all, **_he_** was the one who ran like a coward, going so far as to plant himself in a human womb, to escape just that fate.

He wondered idly whether Botan was the one who had been charged to take his soul to Reikai the day he was shot by that hunter in the Makai. An intriguing idea. Particularly since he'd ended up protecting her on many of the missions that they'd done. The time with Yakumo particularly came to mind…him, running away from death, only to later protect death. Hmm, maybe he would ask her that question the next time he saw her...

Shuichi and Kurama had reached the parking lot in unusual silence, each preoccupied with their own thoughts. As Kurama started the car, Shuichi abruptly changed the subject.

"So you're gonna tell kaasan and tousan now, aren't you?"

Kurama smiled back at him as he murmured his affirmative.

Kurama was rather thankful that they weren't talking about Honda-san anymore. He dealt with depressing subjects quite often, thank you, and he would prefer it the lesser anything of the sort was on the minds of his family members.

"They'll be so happy – Oh, maybe we could go out for dinner!" Shuichi exclaimed in glee. A warm expression flitted over his face as Kurama witnessed his brother's youthful enthusiasm on his behalf.

"Although, you know, I really should've guessed earlier…" Shuichi murmured, half to himself.

Kurama raised a red brow at him.

"When I was waiting out with Yamada-san, and all those people… _cough_girls_cough_…"

Kurama jokingly glared back at his brother. However, Shuichi was having too much fun at his elder brother's expense to stop.

"…came out exclaiming how great their TA was, and squealing about eyes and hair and Mimosas," he elaborated, grinning.

Kurama firmed his lips in slight annoyance. _Not this again…_

"… I **_knew _**I was missing something when I was asking him if the class had usually so many people in it and Yamada-san kept looking at the door and laughing," Shuichi enthused in rememberance.

Kurama rolled his eyes. "We're never going to hear the end of this, are we, Shuichi-kun?"

His only answer was a barely stifled chortle from the snickering boy beside him.

_ --- The end. ---_

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I can't seem to write a fic about Kurama without having at least one mention of Botan in it. :points to 'Nightfall': Ah, the prices of having an OTP. :p Nor can I seem to write about Shuichi Minamino going about his daily life without including fangirls. XD 

You lovely people shall review for the poor author, yes?


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